U.S. stocks were in the red on Tuesday after the PMI fell to 47.8, below the neutral level of 50, pointing to a contraction in September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.11% to 26,619, the S&P 500 Index slid1.08% to 2,944 and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.94% to 7,924.
Shares of McCormick & Co. Inc. (MKC, Financial) gained more than 6% on Tuesday after announcing third-quarter results. The company posted earnings of $1.46 per share on $1.33 billion in revenue. It beat earnings estimates by 17 cents, but fell $10 million short of revenue expectations.
"Our strong third quarter and year to date results reflect the successful execution of our strategies," Chairman, President and CEO Lawrence E. Kurzius said. "We delivered strong sales and operating profit growth while also making investments for the future. In addition to sales growth in the third quarter, we drove strong adjusted operating profit growth and 160 basis points of adjusted operating margin expansion.”
During the quarter, the gross profit margin rose 100 basis points from the year-ago quarter.The increase was driven by cost savings led by the Comprehensive Continuous Improvement program and favorable product mix. Further, the operating income was $254 million, up from $230 million in the prior-year quarter on the back of higher sales and favorable product mix. Moreover, the operating income margin inched up 170 basis points from a year ago.
Looking ahead to full-year 2019 results, the company expects sales growth between 1% and 2% when compared to 2018, driven by new products, brand marketing and expanded distribution. Further, it projects $110 million in cost savings and an improvement in margins, with operating income growing between 8% and 9% from $891 million last year.
During the quarter ended June 30,Ă‚ Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio) established a position, buying 8,169 shares.Ă‚ Tom Russo (Trades, Portfolio) reduced his holding by 1.7% to 28,975 shares, George Soros (Trades, Portfolio) curbed his position by 31.4% to 175,000Ă‚ shares and Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) trimmed his holding by 26% to 78,186 shares.
Gainers
- McCormick & Co. Inc. (MKC, Financial)”‹
- Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA, Financial)”‹
- Philip Morris International Inc. (PM, Financial)
- Masco Corp. (MAS, Financial)
- Carmax Inc. (KMX, Financial)
- Nvidia Corp. ”‹(NVDA, Financial)
Losers
- F5 Networks Inc. (FFIV, Financial)
- Invesco Ltd. (IVZ, Financial)
- Noble Energy Inc. (NBL, Financial)
- General Electric Co. (GE, Financial)
- Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG, Financial)
Global markets
The main European stock markets closed mostly lower. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 declined 0.65%, France's CAC 40 fell 1.41%, Germany's Dax climbed 1.32% and Spain's Ibex 35 retreated 0.85%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225Â gained 0.59%, India’s BSE Sensex slid 0.94%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.53% and China's Shanghai Composite lost 0.92%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
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